Spalsh
by MissEppieLoaf
Summary: Based on a dream i had. Oh if only all my dreams involved RENT :]Mark, Roger,Maureen, Collins and Benny as teenagers. When Mark's family get a pool, secrets about Roger and Maureen are unvieled.Please be kind and review :D
1. Swimming Trunks and Belly Buttons

_**Let me know what you think guys. I know this chapter's pretty short but more to come.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Rent...I Rent.**_

Chapter 1-Swimming Trunks and Belly Buttons

"ROGGGGEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

15 year old Roger Davis groaned and wandered onto the fire escape, rubbing his eyes. Looking down, he saw three quarters of his best friends congregating outside of his parents apartment. The unsurprising owner of the voice who had yelled for him, Maureen Johnson, was hopping from one foot to the other in an overdramatic gesture of impatience.

"Maureen- I told you to go to the bathroom before we left!" Collins groaned with Mock-exasperation, suppressing a grin.

Maureen answered with an eye roll, her hands on her hips defiantly "Oh, just because I live with you, you're now Daddy Collins."

"Well, I don't think Daddy Collins has seen you naked in the shower.."

"EWWWW Benny that is _wrong_!"

"Um…HELLO!!"

The three looked back up to see Roger- arms folded across his bare chest "Will someone please well me why I'm being woken up on a weekend. And if the next words out your mouth aren't 'dead, free food or naked women' I'm going to be severely pissed off"

Benny raised an eyebrow "Woken up? Roger it's half past 1 in the afternoon!"

"So?!" He snapped

"So if _I'm_ awake- it is officially past naptime- now get your ass down here!" Maureen ordered. "Oh and bring your trunks.." she added as he moved to go into his bedroom

Roger frowned and span around "Trunks? As in swimming trunks?"

"No. elephant trunks." Collins responded sarcastically "Just go into your room and bring out some elephant trunks." He grinned "Or are you more of a Speedos guy?"

"I don't own trunks." Roger replied flatly, continuing before Collins could make another witty remark "I don't own any type of swim wear"

Maureen rolled her eyes "Typical. Then just pack extra underpants. Just hurry up! I want to get to Marks before the pool gets cold or one of his disgusting little brothers pisses in it."

"Yes mam!" Roger muttered, mock saluting and marching back into his bedroom.

After half an hour of Maureen whining to Roger for making them late (a hypocritical complaint from the girl who put the fashion into fashionably late), the four friends were approaching the Cohen household. Collins stopped suddenly as they reached the gate, pulled his sweater of, and passed into the Maureen, who muttered in inaudible curse and slid it on, her skinny frame instantly drowned by the fabric. At Rogers look of confusion, Benny smiled smugly.

"Oh that's right, you don't usually come with us to Marks house, do you? Why is that again Roger?" He asked, using any opportunity to remind Roger of Mrs Cohen's dislike for anyone with long hair or with any connection to rock music, Roger, unfortunately fell into both of these categories and he began to drum his fingers against the gate, clearly becoming nervous. It wasn't like Roger to care much what people thought of him, but Mark was one of his best friends, he hated not being welcome in his home.

Maureen shot Benny a death stare for bringing the matter to Rogers attention and turned to face him "Rog. Don't worry about what she thinks. Screw her- she's a stupid paranoid old bitch who's-"

"Uh Mo.."

"-too small minded to realise not everyone is a fucking sheep, and that some people are different-"

"Mo…"Collins' voice became more urgent but was still ignored by Maureen, who simply increased her volume

"I mean, yeah, so I wear shorter tops. Does that instantly make me a fucking prostitute or something?! No. Just because she was a fat teenager who couldn't show any skin without making any boy within a 5 mile radius vomit!" She was ranting now, but didn't care "And another thing-"

"FOR FUCK SAKE MAUREEN!"

"What?!" she span to face Collins and Benny, her eyes growing wide when she realised they were not alone.

"Nice to see you again Maureen." Mrs Cohen said stiffly, her lips pressed in an grimaced smile "Roger, still playing your drums?"

Roger suddenly took a great interest in his shoes "Um…actually.."

Before the conversation could become anymore awkward, Collins dragged him into the house, followed by Maureen who was ignoring the others because they "Didn't tell her the old bitch was there" an accusation Collins responded to with a roll of his eyes. They entered the kitchen, where Mark was attempting casual by sitting on the bunker, swinging his legs.

"Hey." he received them with a grin, jumping down

"You know how your mom wasn't exactly fond of me?" Maureen asked, pulling Collins sweater off to reveal a t-shirt she had shredded with a razor to rest seductively above her belly button.

"Yeah…"Mark replied, frowning as she threw the sweater back to Collins.

"Well I think I just stole Rogers crown as most hated friend of Markypoo."

Marks cheeks flushed but before he could respond she was striding into the garden, stripping into a slinky black bikini.

"Jesus Mark it's HUGE!" Collins exclaimed as he followed Maureen, and was met by the Cohen's new outdoor pool.

"Oh cool it has a diving board! DIBS!" Maureen cried, scrambling up the ladder and gracefully diving into the pool while the boys pulled their clothes of- revealing their swimming trunks.

Maureen rose to the surface and took one look at Marks pale body before bursting into hysterical giggles "I swear to god Mark, your mom has to have had sexual relations with a ghost. There is no other physical way you could be that pale!"

Clearly used to the comments about his skin, Mark ignored her and took of his glasses, sliding into the pool beside her and pulling her under the water, starting a battle which Benny quickly became involved with when Maureen tried to pull his trunks down.

Meanwhile Collins, who had been contemplating the idea of ghost sex, noticed Roger was still fully clothed and was sitting by the edge of the deep end, dangling his bare feet into the water.

"Come on Rog!" Collins said as he swam over "We came here for a reason! No way can you bear the wrath of Mrs Cohen and not enjoy the reward!"

"Na, I don't even have trunks. Besides, its more fun to watch Mark and Benny attempting to fondle Mo and say it was an accident"

"Don't be a spoilsport!" Collins complained and before his friend could react he grabbed his legs and with one almighty heave, he pulled him into the pool-jeans and all- "No one argues with Tom Collins and wins!" he said with an evil laugh. "A lesson you should.." he trailed of, realising Roger hadn't come up for air yet

"Oh my God!" Maureen cried, breaking out of Benny's underwater headlock with gasping for breath "Rogers drowning!"


	2. Trouble

_**Thanks for your reviews! I loved reading them...**_

_**Snakes on Christine- I'm sure you've guessed but yes, this will continue, there will be about 5 chapters**_

_**The Girl of Many Fandoms- Sorry, Angel won't be in this Fanfic. I'll try to bring a mention into the next chapter**_

_**Disclaimer: I STILL don't own RENT...**_

Chapter 2-Trouble

_(("Oh My God…Rogers drowning!"))_

From the second Collins grabbed his legs, a bubble of panic began to grow in Rogers chest. He could hear the blood pulsing in his ears and managed a shocked cry before the water engulfed him.With heavy denim jeans weighing him down, he quickly began to sink to the pool floor. _'I don't want to die. I don't want to die..I don't want to die oh god..help..I can't breathe…I can't...why aren't they helping me!' _his mind screamed a jumbled mess of thoughts. Almost as if on cue, his eyes met a familiar face a few meters away under the water. He struggled to distinguish it, but the raging panic in his mind made it impossible. Then the face disappeared and he was alone. Gripped by terror, he began to thrash his arms wildly, desperate to reach the surface and take a breath. But his struggles proved futile as he hit the bottom of the pool with a soft thud. Too exhausted to fight anymore a small whimper escaped his lips and he curled up in a ball, closing his eyes as the chlorine stung them 'I_ should have told them the truth. If I had I wouldn't be here. Why haven't they realised I need help! Don't they care..?" _It felt like there was a belt being pulled tighter across his chest with each passing second and he knew it wouldn't be long until he couldn't fight anymore. _"Please guys. Please realise I'm not kidding around...I need your help.." _Suddenly, instinct took over and he let out a gasping breath, allowing water to rush into his mouth, slowly filling up his lungs. Stars began to dance in front of his eyes and he could feel consciousness slipping away '_I always knew Thomas Collins would be the death of me.' _He thought bitterly before the world went black

--------------------

_(("Oh My God…Roger's drowning!"))_

Collins rolled his eyes "Don't be such a drama queen Mo," He scoffed "He'll be screwing with us,"

"Collins I swear I saw him!" Maureen protested, genuine concern etched into her face "He looked terrified." She took a breath, preparing to go back under when Collins grabbed her arm.

"Come on! He's clearly trying to play a trick on us! We've all seen Roger swim before. He was in the swim team in his sophomore year."

"Uhh Collins, that was me." Mark mumbled, his face flushing slightly

"Oh. Well what about the time we went white water rafting for spring break and I pushed him of the raft? He was fine."

"Also me. And I don't know the exact definintion, but I wouldn't call having my glasses broken and being half blind for the rest of the trip 'fine'"

Collins chuckled to himself "Oh yeah" He sighed contently "Good times."

"You know, come to think of it I don't think I've ever seen Roger in the water in all the years I've known him. When we were kids and we went to visit his Grandmother in California, he just sat on the beach and played guitar all day." Maureen recalled

Benny raised an eyebrow "And that didn't strike you as at all odd?"

"Come on, it's Roger." she replied

"True. And he doesn't own trunks. And he definitely wasn't as keen on the idea of the pool as you guys were" Mark chipped in

It was only then they all realised Roger still hadn't come up for air.

"Shit." Collins muttered, a sickening feeling -shared by the others- creeping into his stomach. Before anyone else could react, he had disappeared under the water.

"He'll be fine." Mark attempted to reassure a pallid looking Maureen "We were just looking too far into things. Collins was right, he'll be playing a prank on us. You know what Rog is like." The words were having no effect on him, so the chances of them consoling Maureen were slim "He'll be fine."

Within a heartbeat of Mark repeating these words, Collins resurfaced, his eyes wide with panic. Over his shoulder he carried Roger, who lay limp and unmoving.

"Holy…" Mark trailed of, swimming over to the edge and helping Benny and Collins drag their friend onto the poolside tiles. "Is he breathing?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Collins snapped, before putting grabbing Roger by the shoulders and shaking him "Roger? Rog wake up!!!"

In a desperate attempt to take control of the situation, Mark stepped forward and felt for a pulse "His hearts beating. Does anyone know CPR?"

"I do." Maureen whispered- almost inaudible to the others. She was still in the water, frozen with terror at the sight of Rogers lifeless body being dragged from the pool. The realization she may hold the key to bringing him back snapped her into action and she pulled herself out of the water, shrugging off the looks of disbelief from the boys "I used to be a

Brownie." she supplied as she straddled Roger and began to pump air into his lungs After an unsuccessful minute or two, the only other option became clear "Here's something I never thought I'd do." she muttered before lowering her face towards his. The second before their lips met, Roger led out a huge gasp for breath, causing Maureen to scream and tumble of him in shock.

An instant wave of relief washed over the friends and Collins knelt next to Roger, supporting him as he began to cough up water- his chest heaving with gasps for this newly granted air. These gasps steadily dissolved into shuddering breaths and Maureen leant forward, pushing his dripping hair back from his face with an almost maternal hand "Why didn't you just tell us you couldn't swim baby?"

As if responding to her, Rogers gaze travelled to the ground- a distant mist clouding his expression. His head tipped down slightly as a grateful nod to Mark- who had covered his trembling frame with a blanket.

Worried glances were exchanged by Maureen, Benny, Collins and Mark- each hurt in their own way by seeing Roger in such a state. Any hopes of a reply to Maureen's question quickly left the friends minds, so Collins moved forward and-with the help of Mark- lifted Roger to his feet. He slumped forward slightly; not fighting against them, but not helping them to move.

"Roger, you're shivering. We need to get you inside, okay?"

Nothing.

Collins let out a helpless sigh and he and Mark led their friend into the house. Followed by Maureen and Benny.

"You were so not a Brownie." Benny muttered, sceptically. As he caught up with Maureen

"He's alive isn't he." She bit back before following the others.


	3. Revelations

_**Disclaimer-I don't own RENT :)**_

Chapter 3-Revelations

"Collins- no. No way!" Mark exclaimed "Superman is not gay!"

It had been about an hour since Roger had regained consciousness, and the group were sitting in Marks living room, with Collins rebelling against the tense atmosphere by creating random argument with Mark

"Oh come on! He clearly is. No straight man would ever willingly go around in spandex. It just doesn't happen."

This earned a snort of disbelief from Benny "Yeah, like you'd know.."

"It would be a shame if he is gay.." Maureen piped up thoughtfully, momentarily abandoning her task- towelling Rogers hair dry. "He's so hot…well the one in the comic is." she was waffling now "And I bet he's well endowed, They don't call him "super" man for a reason." she grinned mischievously

"There is just no way this girl was a brownie." Benny said, glaring suspiciously at Maureen

"What?!" Roger burst out laughing, looking up at Maureen from where he sat on the floor. "Maureen wasn't a brownie"

This earned him a threatening glance from Maureen, "Shut up Roger." she warned

"Mo I've known you as long as I can remember. You've never been in a girl scout meeting in your life!"

"I knew it!" Collins span to face Maureen, his eyes glowing with triumph "I KNEW no brownie pack in their right mind would ever accept you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Maureen muttered, going back to drying Rogers hair, rubbing the towel with noticeably more violence than before

Mark frowned in confusion, looking between Roger and Maureen "I don't get it. You gave him CPR."

In a very rare occurrence, a deep red blush crept over Maureen's cheeks and she stared at the top of Rogers head "I-um. Iwsinlvewitdavidhasselhof…"

The others exchanged glances "I'll do it" Collins eventually offered "Come again"

"I WAS IN LOVE WITH DAVID HASSELHOF!" she yelled, her words bouncing of the walls "Between the ages of 8 and 11 I watched Baywatch twice a day, every day."

While the rest of the group stared at Maureen, wondering if the time had finally come when she lost her mind, Roger chuckled in recollection "Oh yeah, that's right, he Baywatch phases."

Collins shook his head, downright amazed by her "Only Maureen Johnston could save a boys life repeating something she watched on Baywatch."

"Damn straight." Maureen answered, raising her hand in agreement.

After a brief lets-tease-Maureen-session Mark and Benny started talking about various Baywatch girls- with Collins shaking his head disapprovingly. Noticing the distant look of angst shadowing Rogers expression, Maureen dropped the towel and leant forward to catch his attention "How are you feeling?"

"I'm sorry." He offered as an answer. Maureen couldn't help but notice how he avoided her eyes. Knowing Roger as she did, she took this as a sign of shame and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her

"You don't have to apologise Rog." She kissed him on the forehead "It was an accident."

"An accident" Collins echoed, causing the pain to look up at him "I've been damn quiet about this till now Rog, but I want an answer." No response from the young guitarist. "Now."

Acting as if Collins hadn't even opened his mouth, Roger stood up moved away from Maureen's embrace, separating himself from the group and crossing his arms across his chest. The stance was an attempt at seeming strong, together. Instead it accentuated his discomfort at the situation Collins had forced him into. When he finally spoke, it seemed a struggle, his words stumbling over each other.

"I-um…I..I don't want to talk. A-about what happened.."

"It's okay Roger, you don't have to tell us-not if you don't want to." Maureen kept her eyes firmly on Collins, almost daring him to contradict her. But it was too late, the bridge had been crossed.

"No. It's not okay!" he exclaimed- jumping to his feet at glaring at the squirming Roger "Why the HELL didn't you tell us?! We've been friends for years Roger! None of us have secrets!"

"Collins-"

"No. Maureen butt out he has to hear this. Damnit Roger, you know how hard it was for me to come out. And it was even harder to tell you guys. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. We don't lie. And we don't keep secrets. Secrets destroy friendships."

Something about Collins' last words made something inside Roger snap. He took another step back from them, his eyes flaring with anger "Well then I don't deserve friends." He spat "Or maybe I'm not as open as you are Collins. Maybe I've done things, had things happen in the past that I regret and I don't feel like announcing them to the whole fucking world!!" His face was flushed with anger, his breathing ragged but the anger wasn't vented yet "Or maybe, I don't want the only people I'm close to in the world to know that me, Roger. Everyone's favourite screw up rebel Roger, is scared to swim! Yeah! Not only can I not swim, the thought of swimming absolutely terrifies me." The anger pouring from him had reached such an extent that he was trembling, struggling to ignore the bitter tears that were stinging his cheeks "So I'm sorry." he chocked out "If that makes me incapable of your friendship. Maybe I should just leave before I destroy you all with my secrets." He stumbled back and before anyone could speak he was gone.

A stunned and confused silence followed in his absence. First to react was Maureen- who stood up and grabbed Marks arm "We have to find him." He opened his mouth to protest on Rogers behalf, but she dragged him out regardless. Leaving only the ever distant cries of "Roger!" to be heard in the living room.

_**Review please:) more to come soon**_


	4. Daddy Issues

_**Disclaimer- not mine, don't sue.**_

_**Thanks for the reviews again- The truth about Roger is finally revealed now!**_

_**Btw: Girl of Many Fandoms- the reference is just for you, enjoy :)**_

Chapter 4- Daddy Issues

Roger Davis wasn't the fearful type. He never had been. Seeing Maureen freaking out about a stupid little spider in Collins apartment, or watching Mark around wasps (perhaps a little less irrational considering-knowing Mark- he was probably allergic to them) always made him laugh. In his mind fear was unnecessary; all it did was make you weak. And he had been brought up to shy away from weakness, as a matter of pride. That damn Davis family pride. So he wasn't afraid of water. Swimming just wasn't something he was interested in. And that's the end of it.

"Who the hell do you think you're kidding, Davis." he muttered to himself, kicking the pavement in frustration

After half and hour of frantic (and loud, after all it is Maureen we're talking about) searching, Mark managed to drag his dejected counterpart back to his house, on the grounds that perhaps Roger had already gone back.

"He can't have gone far! Maureen exclaimed for what felt to Mark like the hundredth time since they began their search "He had-"

"No shoes on." Mark interrupted "I know, so you keep saying. But maybe we should leave him? I mean, he was upset, he probably just needs some time alone." Mark was, as usual showing himself as the empathetic one in their circle.

"Those are some wise words Cohen." A voice from behind them spoke causing them both to spin around- coming face to face with Roger.

"Idiot!" Maureen cursed, hitting him around the back of the head "Never run away again!"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her drama "I was on the step the whole time."

Mark frowned in confusion "But…"  
"You walked straight past me with Maureen ranting and raving." he filled in suppressing a laugh.

"Bastard." Maureen spat, sitting down next to him and elbowing him hard in the ribs

While Maureen seemed more than comfortable, Mark was always better at sensing other peoples emotions- especially his close friends- and remained unsure "Uh, Rog we can go in if you want to be alone." he ignored Maureen's narrowed eyes

"No it's okay, you can stay." he answered, making room for Mark on the step "I just had to get out of there."

"You know Collins didn't mean what he said, Rog." Mark said as he sat beside them "He just gets like that when you don't tell him things, God do you remember how he reacted when Maureen didn't tell us she'd lost her virginity?" he couldn't hide a smile at the memory "We thought he was going to kill her."

Roger snorted "Speak for yourself, I always thought he was going to kill her because she lost her virginity to that weird Hispanic kid who he had a crush on."

"Leave Angel out of this." she warned elbowing him again "You may be in a bad place right now but I'll still kick your puny little ass."

Roger sighed dejectedly, loosing his momentary jovialness, his posture withering slightly as he leant his chin in his hand "Yeah if Collins doesn't get there first." he muttered, allowing his friends to see how much Collins' outburst had upset him.

"I always knew he'd react like this, and that's kinda why I never told you guys."

But Maureen knew Roger better than he thought "No it's not." she stated in an unusual voice for her, slipping her hand into his and giving it a comforting squeeze "You did it because for some reason or another, not knowing how to swim hurts you too much to tell us, and you're afraid if you do, it'll bring up some kind of past memories, and make, whatever did happen seem more real.."

Both boys turned to stare at their friend, open mouth, her sudden likeness to an agony aunt understandably shocking them. "Let me guess, childhood crush on Oprah?" Roger suggested, a playful smirk crossing his face.

"I'm right." These words had come from the girls lips so many times, it seemed like second nature, and yet this time, it felt different. "I'm right, and you know it."

"Okay, your right." Roger said grudgingly, crowning Maureen victor in an argument was never something he enjoyed "Look. I don't want to get into this crap. It's just.." He could feel the façade of strength he was wearing begin to crumble, and it was taking all his resolve not to cry "God this is stupid." he chocked out "My dad. He always used to tell me, promise me, that he'd teach me to swim, because his father never taught him." Maureen knew enough about Roger's father to know the story wasn't going to end well, and she shuffled closer to him, pulling him into a one armed hug. It took him a few second of shaky breaths before he found the strength to continue "One night, just before I went to bed, he told me we were going to the beach tomorrow, and he would teach me to swim. It felt like I'd been waiting forever, so I was so excited" he cleared his throat - a vain attempt to disguise a sob- "The next morning I woke up and he was gone. That was the last time I saw him." he sunk into Maureen's embrace, as emotions broke him and he let tears fall onto her bare shoulder (she was yet to get round to taking her bikini off). She played with a strand of his hair, trying to soothe him.

"I just." his words muffled against Maureen's skin "It's like, if I learn to swim. Then he has no reason to…to come home"

"Oh Roger." Maureen breathed, pulling him fully into her arms, her heart breaking at the sight of her closest friend in so much internal pain. She caught Marks concerned glance and realised this was a new experience for him, to see Roger so uncharacteristically weak. But after being friends with him since Kindergarten, she knew there hadn't been one occasion where a conversation about his father hadn't ended it tears-. "He'll be okay." she mouthed to Mark. And within seconds, Roger had proven Maureen right as he slowly sat up; wiping his eyes with a look of shame and self-loathing she recognized all to well.

"Um…maybe it's time for you to try moving on," Mark suggested timidly, clearly still nervous, eyeing him like a ticking bomb.

Maureen lifted his cheek gently, meeting his tear filled eyes "Marks right. You learning to swim isn't going to determine weather or not your dad comes home." she stroked his cheek tenderly."

He let out a shaky breath, trying to block out various childhood memories that were taunting him "You're right, both of you." he admitted, leaning into Maureen's gentle touch.

The 3 friends stood up, and Mark slung an arm around Rogers shoulder "Remember we're all here for you."

"Thanks, I'll keep you to that."

_**More to come soon, review please :)**_


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